broken prisms [Emmet x Reader Pokemon AU]

xx - multiversal

The comfortable silence that fell upon the two of you was a rare treat in such busy and dangerous times. Leaning against Emmet, his arm around your waist, you felt just calm enough to simply enjoy the nighttime serenity. That is, until Emmet stiffened suddenly. His grip on your hip tensed up, jolting you out of your dream-like haze.
"Em?" you called to him, though Emmet did not reply. His gaze was fixated upon the sky, his brows furrowed and mouth slightly agape. With a nervous breath, you followed his stare and found yourself mimicking his own expression.

A pink Pokemon, ovoid in shape as if composed of an outer shell and delicately surrounded by a glittery mist, hovered in the air in front of the two of you - it was distant enough to be difficult to make out its features but close enough to recognise the very familiar outline.
"Holy shit, that's Tapu Lele." You mumbled, breath taken away by the majestic creature and the godly glow that seemed to surround it. The Tapu came closer with slow inquisitive movements, its head tilted as it regarded the two of you.
"That's one of the Guardian Deities. From the game." Emmet commented, his tone devoid of any feeling as he stared up at Tapu Lele in awe. His silvery irises seemed to glimmer with a pink tint as the Tapu sparkled in his gaze.
"It's not a game anymore, Emmet." You replied, almost in a whisper, before Tapu Lele spun in the air and vanished with a flash of pink and a hint of star-like sparkles. It was as if the Legendary creature just evaporated into the starry background behind it. The glimmering dust the Pokemon left behind was the only hint that it had even existed in the first place.

"There you are!"
The swinging open of door hinges and the booming voice of Professor Kukui had you and Emmet almost jumping out of your skins. Turning with a vicious scowl, you glared at Kukui as he gestured for you both to come back inside. Emmet was steadfast in his skyward glaring, only turning to give Kukui a brief disinterested smile before he went back on Tapu Watch Duty.
"Uh, cousin?" Kukui tilted his head, scratching at the back of his neck in confusion. Emmet seemed very much finished with Kukui before he even had a chance to speak to him properly - that left the responsibility of using words with you.
"Oh, uh, we're preeeetty sure we just saw one of the Tapus. It literally just disappeared." You told Kukui, pointing vaguely into the sky where the last of the Fairy's glittery mist was dissipating.
"You serious? Wow, that's pretty neat, yeah," Kukui mused, "I'm gonna assume it was Lele seeing as we're on Akala, yeah?"
"Yep. It just kinda stood- well, hovered - and... stared at us." you muttered, your attention turning back to the glittery echo in the sky. Now it was gone completely, leaving only the stars sparkling amongst the deep black.
Once again Kukui had you and Emmet startled - he firmly clapped a hand on your backs, gesturing once more with a tilt of his head for you to come back inside. With a soft sigh, you opted to just go along with him. Emmet followed, still in a bit of a trance from seeing one of the Legendary Tapus - not that you could blame him for being somewhat dazed, after all the games once again did little to portray just how beautiful Alola and all that lay within it truly was.

Leading you through the now very empty stadium - just how quickly did people leave this place? - Kukui brought you back to the private locker rooms where Guzma was apparently still waiting. By his side was Ariados, idly playing with Guzma's shoelaces as he sat on one of the wall benches. The little arachnid Pokemon scuttled away under the bench as three different sets of footsteps approached.
"Found 'em!" Kukui announced as he strolled up to Guzma, gesturing to both you and Emmet as if the ex-gang leader couldn't see the two of you standing at the Professor's sides.
"Damn, here's me thinkin' ya finally got eaten or somethin'." Guzma scoffed, though his lopsided grin told you it was just a bit of teasing. Kukui not-so-subtly kicked a foot into Guzma's leg, casting him a stern glare which was very much ignored by the white-haired male.
"Listen, we should get back to the Lab, see how Burnet's doing, yeah." Kukui suggested.
Guzma recalled Ariados back into its Ultra Ball before getting to his feet with a dramatic groan. "Y'all go off without me, I've had enough excitement for tonight." Guzma declared, stretching his back and grazing his fingertips across the ceiling. God damn, that guy's tall.
Kukui and Emmet seemed perfectly happy to accept Guzma's plans but it didn't sit right with you. He was constantly coming along just to dip at the last minute.
"Guzma," you called his name, startling him somewhat, "you have to walk the same route back to the city to get to your hotel, right? Why don't you walk with us so we at least know you got there safe?"
For some reason this offer completely flustered and bewildered the intimidating looking man. His bad-guy persona flaked away almost instantly as he fidgeted - what was this dude's deal? You briefly compared the man standing before you with his video game counterpart only to realise you were in a part of the story that, in terms of the game's timeline, hadn't happened yet. Had he disbanded Team Skull in this timeline too? Had he seen his parents since the events of the game? Had that whole... Team Rainbow Rocket thing happened? Whatever happened with Guzma, he certainly wasn't the arrogant and aggressive gang leader you kept expecting him to be. Your faith in the games as a guiding light seemed to be dwindling every day you existed in this bizarre world.